78 september 2010 indwe indwe september 2010 79

Who Would have thought that just down the road from Windhoek, Namibia’s capital, just over that hill and around that bend, is a game reserve that has no light pollution, no traffic sounds, and no worries but just the most lovely little chalets and a steamy spa with views of humpy hills spotted with the African thorn tree so typical of the savannah.

The Auas Mountains just south of Windhoek go a long way to protect the reserve from the glowing lights of the city, where the resort is nestled on a hilltop on the other side, less than 30 kilometres from the capital. In fact, Goche Ganas protects their residents from light pollution so well that the farmers in the area are getting a little restless at the amount of land the reserve takes up. Delicate

agreements exist to keep the farm lights at bay but so far, it seems to be working.

The wellness spa, Goche Ganas, has been around since 1997, but the history of the reserve goes well back to the beginning of the last century. It has changed owners a few times since 1903 when it was sold with some 170 ostriches but it was Udo Stritter that converted the land into a game reserve and established the fine facilities we can experience today.

Speaking of facilities – being a wellness and health spa you can assume that they take their wellness quite seriously. We arrived at the spa early afternoon, a relaxing time to be sure but the majority of people would be up and about but still all vehicles arriving at the resort need to park their cars at the bottom of p

ho

to

gr

ap

hy

xx

xx

xx

xx

xx

A short drive from Windhoek And you cAn leAve All your Worries behind.

if nothing else, goche gAnAs is one of those cliché ‘getting in touch’ plAces

Words by scott smith

[ o a s i s o n a n a f r i c a n s ava n n a h h i l l t o p ]

caption Lenit, conem si ate sunt, to eos ea nonsecatem hiciatur, sum iustrum

the hill. None are allowed to be driving around the chalets or the main facilities, maintaining that serene kind of outlook that allows you to be separate from the outside world. No one really wants to be having one of their lovely massages infused with homeopathic oils and the gentle sound of the grasslands swishing around in the breeze to be heard under the growling of a diesel engine and the crackling of gravel under the tires. Marula and outdoor therapy is a specialty at Goche Ganas. They seem to have thought of everything here.

xxxxxxxxxxxThere is large range of wellness treatments here that there simply wasn’t time to experience them all. There are some eleven treatment rooms with state of the art equipment such as a crystal bath, hydrotherapy bath and even a vichy shower, which is a kind of shower taken when you are lying down on a shallow wet bed with large quantities of warm water poured over you giving a kind of massage effect. This seemed a favourite but most of our time was simply spent around the pool and sauna, enjoying the sunshine, warm water and steaming rocks.

Most of the costs of staying at Goche Ganas include full room and board and with a fine

selection of cuisine one doesn’t really have a problem with the management going ahead and organising that for you. If you have some special dietary requirements, they can do that too. Even if you don’t have such requirements but think you want to make some up for your time here just to get into the groove of health and wellness, I’m sure they can take that on board. Ask them about their nutritional consultations. At Goche Ganas they believe that nutrition is its own special type of healing therapy and that kind of outlook spills over into their restaurant. With another food source being some 30 kilometres away you can be sure they put some effort into making the edibles tasty; after all, it is a long walk to freedom. But after a couple days of sitting in on their schedule and menu you feel

good, you feel right. Try out their fresh fruit and mineral water from their own hot water source.

There are three eating areas at the wellness resort. The hilltop restaurant, outdoor restaurant and the traditional kraal restaurant which is an enclosed area with an open fire under the blazing starry night – as close to nature as you are going to get with polite, white glove service. The dinner seems to be served at about just the right time. You can sit by the pool or the lovely circular bar, taking in the sunset before you go sit down and when you are finished eating there they are, just outside waiting for you, all the stars of the Milky Way. And you may just be able to see a little farther than that considering how clear the sky is out here.

But really, the real treats are out there

bouncing over the grassy savannah. If you ever get tired of massages and relaxing a little too much, take a game drive, a guided walking tour, get on a mountain bike or maybe check out the stone-age caverns found on the reserve in 2002. Stone tools and pottery shards there have been shown to be between 2000 and 9000 years old and the resort offers guided tours to see those remnants from the past. Every now and again, dotted along the savannah landscape you will see some bushman art which the guides will tell you about, giving you some insight into the history of Namibia.

xxxxxxxxxxxOne thing you do need to be aware of before you visit Goche Ganas is that, although there are

At occus, quoditi od quiscid posAe pudA volorendis Atectem

indwe september 2010 81

ph

ot

og

ra

ph

y x

xx

xx

xx

xx

x

caption Lenit, conem si ate sunt, to eos ea nonsecatem hiciatur, sum iustrum

[ g o c h e g a n a s ]

82 september 2010 indwe

some 28 different wildlife species and around 6000 hectares of land spanning around you, this isn’t really a reserve for animals. You won’t find the big five here. But that isn’t the point of Goche Ganas; the game drive and the rhinos, bat-eared foxes, wildebeest, oryx, and eland are added extras and no extra cost.

xxxxxxxxxxOn one of these game drives, our ranger tells us that the name Goche Ganas is actually the name of the African thorn tree, the acacia that is prominent in the region, in the local dialect. Hard to pronounce in our Western languages and consisting of two clicks of the tongue; suffice to say the Merriam-Webster dictionary doesn’t have a phonetic spelling for it, but it

_ i n fo r m at i o nNaturefriend SafarisTel : +264 (0)61 234 793Cell : +264 (0)811 284 794Fax : +264 (0)061 259 316www.naturefriendsafaris.com

GocheGanasTel : +264 (0) 61 224 909Fax : +264 (0) 61 224 924reservations@gocheganas.com info@gocheganas.com

goes something like this: the ‘Goche’ is a click of the tongue with an ‘o’ at the end and the ‘Ganas’ is another click with ‘anas’ at the end. In short, you will simply have to go there and have the game ranger pronounce it for you.

The chalets were wonderful, clean, and while rustic have all the amenities a modern resort seeker would want. In the bath the view stretches out to the mountains and is best taken early in the morning or for sunset. Call me a romantic but I love the suds of a

ph

ot

og

ra

ph

y x

xx

xx

xx

xx

x

caption Lenit, conem si ate sunt, to eos ea nonsecatem

hiciatur, sum iustrum

[ g o c h e g a n a s ]